Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-334976 (hereinafter, “JP '976”) discloses a motorcycle with a lamp unit for visibility purpose such that pedestrians and vehicle drivers can more readily recognize the presence of the motorcycle. However, because motorcycles are typically smaller than passenger cars and trucks, the visibility of the motorcycle to a third party is often reduced, making it likely that the third party will misjudge the distance and speed of the oncoming motorcycle.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-300488 (hereinafter, “JP '488) discloses a motorcycle in which at least one of lighting bodies of a lighting body system of a motorcycle is disposed at a level equal to, or lower than, an axle and forward of a rearmost portion of a front wheel or rearward of a frontmost portion of a rear wheel.
In particular, JP '488 discloses a motorcycle having a structure, in which the lighting apparatus is disposed downwardly. This structure produces an effect of making the lighting apparatus more noticeable. When disposing the lighting apparatus downwardly of the axle, the lighting apparatus may specifically be disposed at a lower end of a front fork. However, the lower end of the front fork is close to the axle and is therefore susceptible to vibrations of wheels occurring from road surface irregularities as the motorcycle runs. Thus, there is a need for a structure for rigidly mounting the lighting apparatus on the front fork, regardless of vibrations of the front fork. In addition, the lighting apparatus is readily noticeable from the standpoint of appearance. There is therefore another need for a mounting structure that does not degrade an aesthetic value of the appearance.
Accordingly, one objective of the present invention is to provide a motorcycle with a lighting apparatus that is more noticeable to third persons and is reliably mounted on a front fork structure of the motorcycle.